"Oh, it's nothing. I just think that it's a rare surname." Allison was a woman who had seen the world. Even though she was turbulent internally, she looked as if nothing was bothering her on the outside. 'Bianca Rayne.'Allison repeated the name in her head. Bianca looked at Allison one last time. She did not think too much about it. There were many people with her surname in her country, but a typical person would not know too many people with that surname. Since elementary school up to her working life, the people around her only knew one person, which was her, with her surname. Allison looked at her son leaving with Bianca. After his car left, Allison was the only one left standing in the garden of the manor. After a while, Allison took her phone out. She looked back to make sure no one was around her before Allison walked far away toward the swimming pool. She called the person she hated the most. "Sorry, the number you have dialed is unavailable…" When she heard
After recovering from the violent coughs, Kevin said, "Can you apply for leave these two days... To visit Luojiazhen? Your grandfather is in the old house, and Marie’s mom might also be going there...""Grandpa?" Bianca was surprised.‘Didn’t Grandpa go to Japan with Dad’s sister? When did he come back?’Kevin held his daughter's hand because he was worried that she would get angry. He coughed and told her everything weakly. After he told her everything, the doctor came in just in time.The doctor was there to do the daily monitoring and examination."Dad, I have to go first," Bianca said.Kevin nodded.She was lost in her thoughts as she tried to digest what her dad told her about Grandpa. She walked out of the hospital.In the ward, Kevin stretched one arm over to let the doctor draw his blood while his other picked up his ringing cell phone. "Hello, this is Kevin." Kevin was focused on the needle sticking into his arm and did not see who was calling before he picked up.
"He is..." Grandpa did not want to guess who the person was. If he guessed wrongly, it would be awkward.Luke walked in with his suit and straightened back. He reached out his hand politely and intimately wrapped his other arm around Bianca's waist. His gesture seemed to allow Grandpa to understand their relationship. "Are you the Jean Langdon that my son told me about?" Grandpa smiled and stood in front of the fire pit. He said, "I tried to remember your name well after Bea's father told me the two of you have been together for more than five years now and that the two of you are getting married soon."Bianca was worried that Luke would correct him, so she immediately interrupted and said, "Grandpa, look how thin you’ve gotten! Were you not used to life in Japan?""I'm old, and old people look like this." Grandpa put his arm around his hunched back and took the fire stick to another dilapidated room.After he searched for something for a long time, the old man took two small sto
Bianca held the bowls and chopsticks. She looked at Luke who was sitting across from her with her sorry eyes. Luke probably hated Jean. When Grandpa called him Jean, even though it felt bad, he had to swallow it for the time being."Grandpa, you should eat more too." Luke did not correct him and made sure the old man ate first.After he picked up food for Grandpa, he picked up two pieces of ribs for Bianca."Thank you." Bianca picked up a few grains of rice with her chopsticks but did not dare to look up at him. She took a small bite of the rice before she bit into the ribs that he picked up for her.It was then when Bianca noticed that the ribs that Luke picked up for Grandpa and her were fine pieces of ribs.It was the type with one single bone and had meat that could be easily bitten off.He ate the backbone.The small town was not fancy, so ribs were sold together with the backbone.Bianca picked up a piece of fine ribs and put it in his bowl. "You should eat too. Don't j
"The owner’s my buddy, so I asked him for a spare key to your room..."From what they heard, the unidentified man Jennifer was struggling from had a wife. His family lived in the small town.Bianca’s hand was grasping the sheet hard.She felt sad for her dad.Dad had struggled for more than 20 years to earn money to support Jennifer and her daughter.In the end, however, Dad was in the hospital enduring the pain from his terminal illness while his wife Jennifer was cheating on him."You dirty man...""Don't you like me being nasty? Anyway, I’m better than that guy of yours who either has this cancer or that cancer... Say it... Don’t you agree...""Ah... You’re good. You’re the best… Ahhh… Don't thrust so hard… You’re going too deep…”"Too deep? I think you can still take a couple more inches in you!" the man said crudely, "You’re at such an old age now. Why are you still pretending… I can go deeper… You’re not that tight either… And I’m the only one who can make you come…”Bi
The manner Allison was speaking in sounded very strange. Bianca was so shocked that she had forgotten to greet her."Where are you? I want to see you right away, Bianca Rayne. I think we need to sit down and talk seriously. It’ll be good for both you and me," Allison said selfishly.When they met at Crawford Manor, Allison treated her very warmly and called her Bea. This was the first time she had called her by her full name, Bianca Rayne. Bianca remembered that when she was five years old, she was pushed to the ground by other kids and ended up knocking her knee under her skirt on the gravel. One of her knees bled after getting scuffed badly.She had cried and gone home to look for her grandpa. She told him that she wanted her mommy and asked why everyone else had a mommy but her.The kids who had mommies always bullied her, calling her ‘little bastard’ and that bastards deserved to be bullied!Grandpa, who was exhausted from her crying, stopped his kind demeanor and had a very
Luke leaned in front of the car, his fiery body wrapped under his shirt and trousers. He was still clamoring to ejaculate.The man frowned and opened the car door to take his box of cigarettes and lighter. He lowered his head, lit a cigarette, and inhaled fiercely. It seemed that the only thing he could do was to smoke to suppress the unrest in his body.His eyes that were as black as ink looked at the room with the dim lights. The old house had been empty for several years, so there were no curtains installed. Luke continued staring at the room until she turned off the lights after a while. That night, Bianca did not sleep well.Luke barely slept in the first half of the night either. He returned to the town. The quiet night inevitably made him feel emotional as he thought back about everything that he experienced in the town.All the good and bad flooded into his mind vividly.Bianca woke up with a headache just a little after five in the morning.She could not sleep well i
"What did you just say?"Bianca's face stiffened.Allison must be joking.Perhaps that rich lady really hated her to the extreme and wanted to separate Luke from her. However, it was a little absurd to say such blatant lies."I said, you’re my daughter. Am I not clear enough?" Allison finished her sentence, reached out, and picked up her coffee cup. She took a sip from it, then raised her head to show an expressionless face. "So you can’t be together with Luke.”Bianca stared at Allison across her. One of Bianca’s hands was clasped across her other hand beneath the table. Her palms were slick with cold sweat.She never told Allison that she had lost her biological mother when she was a child. ‘How does Allison know about this? Did Luke tell her about it?’Bianca's mind was in a mess.She also remembered that Allison was the mistress who separated Susan, who had gone crazy that day, and Luke's father, Zachary. Allison then succeeded in taking over Susan’s position in the family.
“You don’t like eating outside food, do you?” Luca thought that preparing breakfast and dinner for him was not a big deal.Besides, the main point was that Luke did not like eating out. He always felt the taste was off and lacked nutrition.“Actually, it’s not that I don’t like eating out. It's just that all the food outside tastes the same to me.” Luke gently squeezed her hand.“Hey, focus on driving.” Luca chuckled.Luke withdrew his hand and returned it to the steering wheel. “With that woman around, it wouldn’t be convenient for you to cook. Are you really going to make breakfast for them too?”If that happened, it would defeat the purpose of his plan.Luca thought for a moment. She did not mind ignoring Sophian, but if she cooked for Luke and not for Allison, that might not sit well with her. Allison could easily make a fuss over even the smallest details. “So, should we just eat out for breakfast and dinner from now on?”“Yes.” Luke did not mind.It did not matter where t
“Something I like?” Luca laughed. “What could that be?”“You’ll find out when we get there.” Luke kept it mysterious.“Alright then, I’ll wait for your surprise, Mr. Crawford.” Luca was in good spirits without letting family issues dampen her mood. Therefore, she video-called the kids.Luca dialed Mr. Griffin’s number.After Mr. Griffin answered the call, he handed the phone to Lanie. “Young Master Lanie, Ms. Craw wants to talk to you.”“Thank you, Mr. Griffin.” Lanie took the phone and pressed ‘accept’.Luca positioned the camera to include both her and Luke. She waved at the screen. “Lanie, Rainie, Tommy, what are you all doing?”“Lanie! Lanie, I want to talk to Ms. Luca!” Tommy waved excitedly at the camera, eager to take the phone.Lanie handed it to him. “Go on, tell Daddy and Ms. Luca about your good news.”Luca smiled and asked with curiosity. “Good news?”“Daddy, Ms. Luca, I made it to the next level in the math competition! The finals are this Saturday!” Tommy said e
“Why are you being so slow?” Allison was irritated. She shoved the products into Sophian’s hands.“I told you to use them, so just use them.” Allison ran out of patience. After urging Sophian, she lay back down.Sophian had no choice but to follow her instructions and poured out some product. The texture of the product in her palm made her pause for a moment. It was incredibly moisturizing!She gently patted it onto Allison's face and noticed the area she touched felt just as smooth.Allison let out a content sigh. “This essence is really soothing.”Even though Sophian was still worried about potential side effects, she could not help but admire the instant hydrating effect. She asked in a low voice, “Madam Allison, is this really developed by that woman?”She could not believe that Luca had such skills and wondered if the essence had just been repackaged into another bottle and sold as her own creation.“That's what she says,” replied Allison. “But she's into pharmaceuticals, s
After agreeing to become the maid, Sophian’s excitement gradually turned into anxiety.The villa was so large. Could she really handle all the tasks a maid was supposed to do?As she thought about it, she accidentally left the bread in the toaster for too long. After serving it to Allison, she was scolded.“What’s this? It’s just a slice of toast. How could you burn it like this? How am I supposed to eat it?” Allison was clearly displeased.Sophian awkwardly explained, “Madam Allison, this is my first time using this toaster. I didn’t quite get the temperature right...”Allison was about to keep complaining but paused for a moment, remembering that Sophian was the one she had brought in to be the maid. Now, she was the only one who could make breakfast for her. She disdainfully tore off the burnt part and took a bite. “Where’s the soy milk?”“It’ll bring it out,” replied Sophian, heading back to the kitchen. She brought out two glasses of soy milk and another slice of toast tha
“Are you planning to tell me that Madam Allison brought someone back?” Luca had a feeling she knew what was going on. Luca had been wondering why Allison had taken such a big risk by going out during the day, but it all made sense now.“Yes, she brought someone back and said she'll be taking over my job,” Aunt Neile replied helplessly. She was worried she had lost her competitive edge, which made her feel anxious.“I got it, Aunt Neile.” As soon as Luca spoke, there was a cheer from inside the lab. She glanced back and saw that there seemed to be progress in the research. Rhett gave her a thumbs-up to signal success.She slightly smiled and nodded before hearing Aunt Neile's voice again on the phone. “Ms. Craw, there’s something I’d like to say, though I’m not sure if I should. I’ve thought about it, and I feel like I should. Even though Mr. Crawford isn’t the type to fool around, you have to be careful. He has no interest in that woman, but she’s clearly interested in him. You sh
Allison watched the two of them go upstairs, and instantly, her temper flared.Not allowed, huh?Allison refused to believe it. She would find a way to turn things around and reclaim her position in this family!…The next morning, as Luke and Luca came downstairs, they noticed Aunt Neile looking at them with red, puffy eyes.“Aunt Neile, what happened?” Luca was puzzled. What happened?“Mr. Crawford, Ms. Craw, Madam Allison just told me that I’m fired.” Aunt Neile looked distraught. She thought Allison’s words yesterday were just a joke, but first thing in the morning, she was told to settle her wages and leave. She was completely stunned.“Mr. Crawford, did I do something wrong?”Luke’s brows furrowed. Allison’s behavior was truly astonishing.“You’re not fired,” replied Luke. “Is breakfast ready?”Relieved to hear she still had her job, Aunt Neile quickly wiped away her tears and let out a sigh of relief. “Yes. Mr. Crawford, Ms. Craw, please have a seat. I’ll bring it out.
Luke was driving back home with Luca. It was already 9:00 pm when they arrived at the villa.Just as they reached the foyer and had not taken more than a few steps, Allison's voice rang out.“Oh, so you're finally willing to come back from Crawford Manor?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.Luca did not know how to respond to Allison and looked over at Luke.Luke let go of Luca's waist and whispered, “Go upstairs first.”“Okay.” Luca nodded, changed her shoes, and was about to head upstairs when Allison said again, “Stop. Who told you to go upstairs?”“Madam Allison, is there something you need?” Luca's tone was cold, carefully masking the helplessness inside her.Since she learned that Allison would be returning to the country and moving here, Luca had mentally prepared herself to be put in a difficult position. She loved Luke, so she was willing to tolerate whatever troubles came with it.Luca believed that as long as she and Luke faced things together, there was nothing th
After finishing work, Luca headed straight to Crawford Manor.When she arrived and greeted Old Master Crawford, the three kids came running down the stairs and surrounded her. They each took turns expressing how much they missed her and Luke.Luca missed them too, so after exchanging a few words with Old Master Crawford, she went upstairs with the kids to help them with their homework.It did not take long before Luke arrived.Not seeing Luca in the living room, he asked Old Master Crawford, “Grandpa, has Luca arrived?”Old Master Crawford was in a good mood. He nodded and replied, “She's upstairs, helping the kids with their homework.”Luke sat on the couch and watched the evening news with Old Master Crawford.“Has your mother caused any trouble lately?” asked Old Master Crawford.“Not really,” answered Luke. He could still manage Allison.“That doesn’t sound like her,” added Old Master Crawford, assuming Allison would always be causing trouble.“Her condition is bad right
“What do you mean ‘suppose so?” Allison hated vague answers like that. The more uncertain she was about how Old Master Crawford felt about Luca, the more she wanted to know.“Where's the car key?” asked Allison.“Madam Allison, what do you need the car keys for?” asked Aunt Neile, already knowing the answer but trying to delay her.“Of course, I’m going to Crawford Manor. Old Master Crawford is the strictest with Luke, and I can't let him ruin everything because of a woman." Allison was already planning ahead. She was worried that the old master would not like how Luke was behaving and that he might strip him of his power. A wave of panic washed over her.“Madam Allison, it’s already too late to go to Crawford Manor now,” Aunt Neile quickly said. “If you drive over there now, they’ll already be having dinner. If you go now, Old Master Crawford will just scold you for being disrespectful. You just came back. It’d be better not to upset him, right?”Allison paused for a moment.